Setup devices for machine tables are used to assist with shaping, milling, cutting, drilling, grinding, polishing, etc. of stock and are well known in the art. Setup devices are typically used as jigs to provide guidance and/or support for raw stock which is to be processed in some manner by a machine tool(s). Conventional setup devices typically comprise a member having one end formed in a T-shaped configuration. The T-shaped end of the setup device is inserted into a machine way channel, which generally has an inverted T-shaped transverse cross section. The setup device is inserted such that the portion of the setup device forming the T-shaped end mates with the machine way channel. Thereafter, an appropriate device, e.g. a clamp, engages with the T-shaped body.
One drawback associated with such known setup devices is that they are not quickly or easily inserted into and removed from the machine way channels since the T-shaped end portion of the setup device must be inserted and removed via an end of the machine way channel. In addition, the conventional setup devices sometimes may not be capable of being removed while the machine tool is in use, since the stock secured to the machine table may interfere with the removal of the T-shaped end portion of the setup device from the machine way channel. Lastly, the known setup devices do not easily facilitate accurate and reliable alignment for a stock to be machined relative to the machine table of a machining device.
Another major drawback associated with prior art setup devices is the difficulty in aligning a longitudinal axis or edge of a piece of stock to be machined parallel to a longitudinal axis of a channel. Currently, there are not any quick and easy ways of ensuring that the longitudinal edge of a piece of stock is accurately aligned, within one or two thousandths of an inch or so, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the channel.